Latest KFF Health News Stories
Residents of a tiny rural town in northern California talk about the lack of access to mental health care.
When Health Care Is Far From Home
The biggest barrier to treatment for residents of a tiny town in the mountains of Northern California isn’t insurance coverage– it’s distance.
Kaiser Permanente Faulted Again For Mental Health Care Lapses In California
Following up on a critical report in 2013, the California Department of Managed Health Care found Kaiser Permanente had not resolved concerns about providing timely and appropriate access to treatment.
Burwell Calls For Congress To Work With Her On Health Issues
The chief of the Department of Health and Human Services says Democrats and Republicans can reach accord on many issues beyond the health law.
Even With Coverage Expansion, Access To Mental Health Services Poses Challenges
A 50-state analysis details incidence rates of mental illness and access to care across the country.
For Formerly Obese, Stigma Remains Even After Weight Is Lost
People who have lost significant weight are uneasy about how much to reveal in online dating profiles, and research shows they have good reason to be.
Urgent Care Centers Opening For People With Mental lllness
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Hoping to keep more people with mental illness out of jails and emergency rooms, county health officials opened a mental health urgent care center Wednesday in South Los Angeles. The goal of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Mental Health Urgent Care Center is to stabilize and treat people in immediate crisis […]
‘Pastoral Counselors’ Help Fill Mental Health Gap In Rural States
Six states allow these counselors
Wrestling With A Texas County’s Mental Health System
Strong leadership and common-sense budgeting created a model mental health care system in San Antonio.
San Antonio Police Have Radical Approach To Mental Illness: Treat It
With specialized training and a redirection of resources, San Antonio’s police force is taking better care of mentally ill people, keeping them out of jail and saving $10 million a year.
Has Health Law Helped Young People Get Mental Health Treatment? Maybe
Mental health issues like depression, anxiety and substance abuse often start in adolescence, then peak in young adulthood. But for young people who don’t have steady jobs or stable paychecks, getting help can be tough. A popular provision of the Affordable Care Act that took effect in 2010 aimed to make it easier for young […]
To Beat Heroin Addiction, A Turn To Coaches
A one-year pilot project in Gosnold, Mass., provides recovering addicts with daily, sometimes hourly, help from a recovery coach.
Florida Shifts Medicaid Mental Health Strategy
It offers a plan geared to people with serious mental illnesses that will coordinate physical and behavioral services.
Getting Rural Patients Psychiatric Help Fast
Patients in rural hospitals often have to wait days to see a psychiatrist. South Carolina is a leader in turning that around.
ACA Hasn’t Boosted Use Of Mental-Health Care Services In Philly Region
Caregivers blame Pennsylvania’s decision not to expand Medicaid, as well as the continued stigma of seeking such care.
Advocates Worry Conn. Decision Could Undermine Autism Coverage
That state has defined autism behavioral therapy as a type of medical benefit not subject to the mental health parity law, a move that allows insurers more latitude to limit the benefits they offer.
For Women Just Out Of Jail, Health Care Could Be Key To Better Life
Sheriff in San Francisco wants to make sure the 30,000 prisoners who come through the jail system every year have health insurance on the day they’re released.
Parents Of Mentally Ill Adult Children Frustrated By Privacy Law
Even if parents are providing health insurance, they often can’t find out about what’s happening when their adult children suffer from severe mental illnesses.
Cops In Conn. Train In Mental Health 101
The intersection of law enforcement and mental health has been a huge issue in Connecticut since the Newtown shootings. One department is training 20 percent of its officers to handle people with mental illnesses better.
Health Law Requires Medicare To Cover Dementia Evaluation
But an influential panel of experts says there isn’t enough evidence to recommend screening tests for the public.
